Jesuit Contribution to the Mapping of the Philippine Islands: A Case of the 1734 Pedro Murillo Velarde’s Chart

Abstract

Drawn in the Portolan style by Spanish Jesuit Pedro Murillo Velarde (1696–1753), and published in Manila in 1734, the chart of the Philippine archipelago is considered as the first scientifically based map of the Philippines. In this paper we will discuss how this chart was compiled, which sources and methods were used, and how the Pedro Murillo Velarde’s chart of 1734 influenced the dissemination of geographic knowledge on the Philippines throughout the entire eighteenth century, especially the appearance of the Philippines on the VOC’s charts as well as British nautical charts of the Philippines produced by Alexander Dalrymple.

References

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